City of Jackson secures over $13.7 million in federal grant

(Jackson, Miss.) – Today, the City of Jackson is excited to announce the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Authority will allocate over $13.7 million in grant awards to the city’s public transportation system (JTRAN) for low and no emission bus and bus facilities.

The funding will supplement the city’s current fleet of diesel-electric hybrid buses with additional environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient vehicles, reducing air pollution, runtimes and saving the city money on fuel costs.

“We are very excited about this opportunity and thankful to the Biden/Harris administration and Congressman Bennie Thompson for making this funding a reality,” said Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba. “This is particularly important to JTRAN and the city of Jackson as we continue to re-envision the role of transportation to our communities.”

The City of Jackson under Deputy Director of Transportation, Christine Welch, submitted a request for $20 million to the FTA in April. Last week, Welch and the city learned the federal agency had approved nearly 75 percent of that request. The $13,717,417 allocated to Jackson is the largest amount the city has ever received for the advancement of the JTRAN fleet and system.

“We are very proud of that and we are very proud of our system,” Welch said at a media briefing Monday.

Since he took office, Mayor Lumumba has made it a priority to transform the City of Jackson into a multimodal city where multiple avenues for transportation exist, such as an upgraded public transportation network, as well as bicycle and pedestrian paths. Transportation, along with education and economic opportunities, is one of the top determinants of generational poverty as many residents rely on public transportation to get to school, work and workforce development. Some areas of Jackson are food deserts where fresh, nutritious food options are out of reach of residents in many neighborhoods, making reliable transportation a necessity and quality of life issue in Jackson.

In 2022, the FTA announced over $8.7 million in federal grant funding to Jackson to implement findings from the city’s comprehensive “Connect JXN Transit Plan”.  Since then, JTRAN has established an updated and more convenient route system with onboard announcements for stops and modern technology, such as a phone app for riders and a fresh, easy-to-navigate website. These upgrades make the rider experience more accessible and convenient to residents and mark a significant improvement from just years earlier.

In total, the FY 2024 Low-No and Bus grants under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide nearly $1.5 billion in competitive funding for 117 projects in 47 states and territories, resulting in about 1,100 new buses on the nation’s streets. Of 117 funded projects, nearly 80 percent of the buses will run on zero and low-emission technology, reducing air pollution and helping meet the goal of zero emissions by the year 2050, according to the FTA.